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TIMANFAYA NATIONAL PARK
Timanfaya National Park History
Timanfaya Lanzarote : One of the most famous and beautiful legends of the Timanfaya National Park that you should know before you come to visit us:
From the eruption of 1730 a great legend emerged that would later become one of the most famous of the Canary Islands. This is the Legend of the Devil of Timanfaya in Lanzarote.
Legend has it that on the 1st of September 1730 a wedding was taking place in Timanfaya Lanzarote. The couple was formed by the son of one of the richest people of the island and a young woman whose family was dedicated to the cultivation of healing plants.
In the middle of the celebration a big explosion moved the earth and it started raining rocks and lava that destroyed everything in its path. The guests and the people of the village began to run for shelter, but misfortune fell on the young couple.
A large rock from the volcano crushed the bride and buried her. The groom, seeing this scene, takes a five-pointed forge to try to move that stone and save it. When he finally succeeded, he realized that his beloved had died.
Between his despair and the feeling of desolation he took the body of his wife without letting go of the forge and began to run through the valley looking for shelter. Which he obviously could no longer find.
In spite of the smoke and ashes, some of the villagers were able to see the moonlit young man on a hill. He raised the five-pointed forge with his two arms and the witnesses sighed with sadness «poor devil».
Then the image of the bridegroom disappeared in the burning ground of Lanzarote.
The locals say that from the young woman’s spilled blood, the plants grown by her parents began to be born. These were given the name of the unfortunate couple «Aloe Vera», where Aloe was the man and Vera the woman.
Today the figure of the young man with the five-pointed forge raised with both arms is very popular. It is also the image of Timanfaya Lanzarote. The place where he lost his love because of the volcanic eruption. This excursion looks good, doesn’t it? Write it down in your personal What to do in Lanzarote guide
This story begins right here.
How to get to Timanfaya National Park?
Welcome to the Fire Mountains:
If you come from Yaiza follow the LZ-67 road to the Fire Mountains and Tinajo, you will find a road built with the same lava materials of the area.
Following the road from the Echadero de los Camellos, where by the way it is possible to enjoy a short ride on the back of a dromedary is only 12 Euros per person and children will be delighted, there is a photographer service where you can immortalize it or stop by the shop-bar to buy a souvenir. The opening hours are from 9h to 16h30 in summer and from 9h to 16h in winter.
Timanfaya National Park Prices
Following the road, 2.5 km away, you will find the Taro at the entrance to the «Fire Mountains» Tourist Centre from Hilario Islet. The entrance fee for adults is 10 euros, for children from 7 to 12 years old it is 5 euros and free for the younger ones. You can enjoy a guided tour in Guagua, commented in several languages, I recommend you to stand on the right side of the bus if you do not want to take heads in your photos.
Timanfaya Lanzarote Timetable
The park is open every day from 9am to 7pm in the summer (from 15 July to 15 September) and from 9am to 5.45pm the rest of the year with the last visit at 5pm.
Routes in Timanfaya National Park
There are two other options for visiting the park that are on foot, with guides arranged at the Mancha Blanca Visitor Center (Phone: 928.840.839 for reservations). It is the Tremesana route, it is a walk of about 2 kilometers very easy to do, I do not recommend families with children under 7 years unless they are accustomed to walk for 3 hours, I recommend that for the visit wear comfortable shoes, do not go with heels or sandals, also wear a hat and sunglasses to protect you in summer from the sun and in winter period although in Lanzarote the temperature is pleasant, think about wearing an anorak for the wind and at any time of year take at least a liter of water.
On this route you will be able to enjoy different structures of recent volcanism and the guide will help you to enjoy everything around you, either geologically speaking or showing us the processes of colonization of lichens and crops in the area. If you are lucky you will be able to admire some of the birds that live in the park such as the partridge, as well as our land friends such as the Haría lizards or some rabbits. Don’t confuse rabbits with the old name given to the Lanzaroteños, due to the large number of them on the island in the 19th century.
This route takes place on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday mornings and leaves from the Mancha Blanca Visitors’ Centre in private vehicles from the centre to the point where the trail starts.
Another route would be the route of the coast or of the hervideros, this route can be made with guide or by free. This route has greater difficulty and forms 9 kilometers of route on steep terrain of lava, is located in the municipality of Yaiza and belongs to the natural park of the volcanoes, the contrast between the ocean and the blackish relief of lava is spectacular, this lava comes from the eruptions that took place between 1730 and 1736 on the volcanoes of the national park of Timanfaya Lanzarote reaching the coast forming some cliffs with holes. If you are lucky and there are good waves you will be able to hear how the waves roar when they hit the cliffs and you will see why they are called «boiling». It seems that the water when it enters the cavities comes out very strongly as if it was coming out of a boiling pressure cooker.
There is also the short coastal route formed by only 2 kilometers and of low difficulty, this one you can do with the smallest ones and it is with guide, this visit is done between the gulf town and the Paso beach, here we will be able to see other type of animals, like marine birds, mollusks and seafood.
The best time to visit Timanfaya National Park
Another way to visit the Fire Mountains Park would be to go with an organized tour from your hotel, or with an operational tour, the advantage of this way of visiting is that you avoid the queues when you arrive at the Taro entrance, so you pass in front of the queues of cars before entering and then continue your tour on the bus.
You should know that the best time to visit the park is first thing in the morning, I recommend you to arrive before they open around 8.30 am, why not bring a picnic breakfast waiting for them to open? This way you will not only avoid queues, but also avoid the torrid heat of 12 noon. Regarding when to visit, since it is evident that it is better to avoid the holiday periods and better during the week, I was also told that from 15h in the afternoon the affluence is lower.
Tips for visiting Timanfaya National Park
Something essential is to carry your camera with a well charged battery and of course with your film or memory card, it seems obvious but you would not be the first person who forgot the card, me!
Be prepared to be able to feel in lunar terrain, or depending on where you look at Mars, that feeling that you are in the Star Wars movie and that from one moment to another Yoda is going to appear and offer you his hand saying: «An infinite mystery the force is. There’s so much to learn.» So let yourself be carried away by the force around you, smell it, feel the heat, open your senses.
When you get off the bus you will be able to continue your visit by observing certain phenomena of nature, please listen carefully to the safety instructions and be attentive to the children, they will make a demonstration by making a hole in the ground not very deep by introducing dry grass and you will see how almost instantly it catches fire, this is due to the high temperatures that we find just below our feet, at a short distance, at 120 degrees and at 11 meters below ground they can reach up to 600 degrees.
Another very appreciated demonstration among the youngest and not so young is the geyser display, with a bucket of water poured into some chimneys right in front of the restaurant «El Diablo», the name referring to the legend.
As a last experience and no less playful is the one that consists of taking a handful of earth in your hands and see who can best withstand the heat of it, will be the closest you are to take something natural from there as a souvenir, since there are very strict rules regarding the environment.
Rules of the Timanfaya National Park
FORBIDDEN:
-Access and circulation off authorized roads and paths, come on you can’t get out of the car even for a rush.
-Stop or park the vehicles outside the areas marked for that purpose.
-All hunting activity (hunting), as well as the introduction of weapons of any kind.
-Gathering plants, animals or rocks (no matter how much you want to and even if they are not counted) or any of their parts.
-Professional activities of photography, video, film (that’s why I didn’t see Yoda), TV, etc… which require a special permit that is requested at the National Park offices.
-The use of high volume sound reproduction devices or megaphones.
-The practice of caving and outdoor sports.
ADVICE AND RECOMMENDATIONS:
-Respect nature, collaborate in the conservation of the natural and cultural values of the Timanfaya Lanzarote National Park
-Be discreet and silent, maintain the environmental quality of your surroundings.
-Follow the instructions of the park’s surveillance service, both for your safety and for that of others.
Visits of interest after visiting Timanfaya National Park
Once we have finished the visit, it would be interesting to emphasize the oven of the restaurant «EL DIABLO» an outstanding work of César Manrique made in 1970, four years before the inauguration of the park, located in the islet of Hilario, which refers to Mr. Hilario, a hermit who lived alone with his camel, Hilario planted a fig tree, which never gave a fruit because the tree «could not feed from the flame» said the man.
In the restaurant there is an open oven in volcanic stone in which today they cook meat and vegetables with the heat of the volcano.
The restaurant’s opening hours are from 12h to 15h45 in winter and from 12h to 16h45 in summer. They have a cafeteria that is open from 9h to 16h45 in winter and from 9h to 17h45 in summer.
The price is very correct and you can order the menu via internet before going, you can also take advantage and try some succulent tapas made with the typical products of here. We already know that eating is very important, but also enjoy it with a good view of panoramic volcanoes, that is unique in the world and even better during the sunset, think again about your camera.
They have a shop with products designed around the devil of Manrique, they also have ceramic objects made by local artisans, with the same schedule as the restaurant.
Timanfaya National Park Visitors’ Centre
I advise you as complementary information to your visit of the park of the mountains of the fire, a visit to the center of visitors and interpretation of White Spot is very didactic and it will help you to understand the formation of this part of the island. This building was built on top of a sea of lava, over which they have built a footbridge, so the views are impressive; there you will find a table explaining the different types of reliefs.
This museum is very didactic and has several rooms, the most appreciated among the children is a simulation of a series of eruptions that will make you feel the same sensations that the poor people felt that day of the explosion.
There is also the room with two audiovisuals that last about half an hour, the first one is a slide show with special effects and the second one is a video about landscapes, fauna and flora of the Timanfaya National Park.
For the more curious you have the library which also has a photo, video and newspaper library.
You must know that they have a huge parking lot. The schedule of visits is of 9 hours to 17 h every day of the year. The entrance is free and you also have headphones in different languages that will accompany you throughout the rooms. Have you liked the experience of Timanfaya Lanzarote?
If you would like to see another museum-information point, it is located in the Echadero de los Camellos, it is also free and open to the public. There is a permanent exhibition that explains the geological characteristics of the park.
You will be able to see remains of materials from the eruptions, you will also find traditional agricultural samples with the dromedaries that they no longer use for this (as I explained before now they only use them for rides). You can visit this installation from 9am to 3pm, Monday to Friday.
With much love Leire